Jesus’s Walk to Calvary

Hello everyone,

Today marks the saddest day for Christians as we mourn the death of our Saviour. Although today was a beautiful sunny day in Prince Edward Island, I wish it would have been dark and overcast to match the feeling in my heart.

There’s a passage I was reading in John that really drove home the message of why Jesus had to die. The night he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, I noticed that Jesus was praying for his disciples and future believers more than he prayed for himself. Even though he was about to die, he prayed for you and me. Let that sink in for a moment….Jesus was praying for you in his darkest hour! (John 17:20-26)

From the moment the Lord said “Let there be light,” Jesus already knew man would sin and disobey His Father. God already had a plan for salvation in place to save us all. It was Jesus’s love for us that pushed him to lay down his Heavenly crown and become human. He knew that if he didn’t take our place then we would all be doomed to hell for eternity and separated from God forever.

Jesus endured the torture and mocking because the entire time, he was thinking about us and our desperate need for salvation. 

After he had been whipped, Jesus had to carry his own cross up the road to the hill of Calvary. At this point he was weak from blood loss and blinding pain from the scourging. Lots of people didn’t even survive the whipping, but Jesus still had work to accomplish. He walked with the heavy cross on his shoulder and the crown of thorns jabbing into his head. Every step was agonizing for the Son of God and the crowd jeered at him as he hobbled through the streets.

But as he made his way to Calvary, he had one thing on his mind…you. His love for the world was so strong that nothing could extinguish it, not even death. As he breathed his last breath and released his spirit, he cried “It is finished!” The plan of salvation was opened up and he had made a way for us to be reconciled with our God. And it was all because he loved you.

So when you are complaining about your walk through life, remember the difficult walk Christ took so you could have eternal life. None of it would have been possible if he hadn’t taken that trip up to Calgary’s hill. If he had the strength to finish his walk, then he will give you the strength to finish yours and he will be with you every step of the way. The Bible says “I have told you this so you might have peace in me. Here on Earth you will have many trials and sorrows but take heart for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Keep walking in faith,

Sarah

Overcoming Roadblocks

Hey everybody,

Well I am a woman of my word, so here is my post on how to overcome roadblocks in your walk with God.

The Devil will throw roadblocks in your path on a daily basis because you are a child of God, so you are automatically not a friend of his. He will do anything he can to make you miserable.

He knows your weaknesses better than you do and he knows exactly how to exploit them. He will tempt you into falling out of step with God.

So…how do you get around Satan’s roadblocks?

The first thing you should do is to become familiar with your weaknesses. Take a good hard look at your life and figure out your flaws that way you know the areas where the Devil is attacking you.

In my case, my pride is my downfall. I get my ego too inflated and sometimes fail to give God the credit for the things He did. I build myself up and let others build me up. I also talk too much and my tongue often gets the best of me.

Different people have all kinds of weaknesses. For some it’s gossip, criticism, jealousy, or lust. For others it could be gluttony, hatred, or struggling with addictions.

The second thing you should do is avoid situations where your weakness could be exploited.

If your weakness is jealousy, stay away from people who make you jealous and spend time appreciating what you have. For those who indulge in food, don’t visit all-you-can-eat buffets. If you are lustfu,l abstain from pornography or sensual movies and magazines. If you are critical, find ways of encouraging people and building them up.

In my situation I should be humble and when people give me compliments I should give God the glory or focus on the strong points of someone else.

If you are not in a place where you are vulnerable, then there is a lesser chance that the Devil can attack you. He will most likely tempt you while you are in states of vulnerability like if you’re tired, lonely, or stressed. Jesus, the perfect Son of God was tempted while he was all by himself in the wilderness.

The third step in overcoming temptation is to use Scripture.

This is something Jesus himself did when he was tempted. When he was hungry and Satan told him to use his power to turn rocks to bread he said: “The Scriptures say ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” (Matthew 4:4).

Two more times Jesus used God’s Word to rebuke the Devil and when he did, Satan went running.

You too can send the Devil running.

James 4:7 says “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.”

The Devil knows the Scriptures better than you do and he will use every chance he gets to twist it into a lie. That is why it is so important for you to spend time in God’s Word reading it and memorizing it so you can use it as a weapon against the Devil’s lies.

In Ephesians 6 when Paul is describing the armor of God he saves the most important piece for last and that is the Sword of the Spirit also known as the Word of God. It is the weapon you can use against the Devil.

I urge you to spend time each day to spend time reading the Bible so you can be ready to defend yourself against Satan’s lies.

Another way to overcome temptation is to pray about it. God wants to hear about your struggles and He will help you.

I’m sure you might be thinking. “‘God won’t understand what I’m going through. He’s a perfect holy God and I am just a sinful human.” 

Well the truth is: He does understand what experiences you are going through because He was human. Jesus was as human as you and me. He was tempted and he overcame it. He knows the struggles of this world so He can help you.

1 Corinthians 10:13 is proof of that. “The temptations in your life are not different than what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out.”

There is good news in that verse. God will make a way out! So if you feel like you are trapped in a bottomless pit by the Devil, remember there is a way out.

So if you are facing temptation, ask God and He will show you the way out and He won’t allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.

My final piece of advice about overcoming temptation is to talk to other believers about it. I know they might not know exactly what you’re going through, but they can listen to you and maybe give you some advice. They could also pray for you and pray with you. You don’t have to go through temptation alone. God created the church so we can encourage others and lean upon them.

I am also here if you want someone to pray for you or if you want some advice. I may not have all the answers, but I can do my best to help you find some. You can contact me at sseeley@hollandcollege.com.

Until then, keep walking in faith,

Sarah Seeley